Toddler on Easter egg hunt stumbles on Second World War grenade

  • Egg-shaped hand grenade was spotted by father-of-three at the event organised by a pre-school group

By
Mail On Sunday Reporter

17:07 EST, 7 April 2012

|

17:07 EST, 7 April 2012

Police called in the bomb squad yesterday after a father spotted a boy standing on a hand grenade during an Easter egg hunt.

The grenade, believed to be a relic from the Second World War, was found in a field next to a busy road.

The bomb disposal team carried out a controlled explosion.

Controlled explosion: Army bomb disposal experts were called to the scene after a boy was spotted standing on a hand grenade during an Easter egg hunt in a field at Holford, Somerset

Controlled explosion: Army bomb disposal experts were called to the scene after a boy was spotted standing on a hand grenade during an Easter egg hunt in a field at Holford, Somerset, yesterday

The egg-shaped hand grenade was spotted by father-of-three Stuart Moffatt, 34, at the event organised by a pre-school group.

Mr
Moffatt, an engineering consultant, was there with his wife Victoria,
35, and their children Nelly, five, Isla, two, and 11-month-old Freddie.

He said: ‘We were beginning to count up the eggs at the end of the hunt and I saw a boy of three standing on an object.

‘It was brown and about 4in high. It looked like an Easter egg, but it was a hand grenade.

Sealed off: Stuart Moffatt, pictured with his daughters Nelly (right) and Isla (left), spotted the boy standing on the grenade

Sealed off: Stuart Moffatt, pictured with his daughters Nelly (right) and Isla (left), saw the boy standing on the grenade

‘I was shocked. The boy who was standing on it thought it was a rock. The leaders did a great job keeping the children calm.’

About 25 children, aged between two and five, had been at the hunt near woodland at Holford, Somerset – just yards from the A39.

Police later confirmed the grenade had been destroyed and the bomb disposal team declared the area safe.

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